The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-09-08

fine. Mutton may sometimes be given
instead. The full diet of the table
must not be given until after the third
year, Pastries as ordinarily prepared
are too rich for children, Fruits are
best for young children, when cooked,
stewed or steamed until perfectly
done. Berries and fruit thus prepared
are best eaten spread on bread and
butter or soda cracker. -
fs QUANTITY IF FOOD REQUIRED.
There, is great need Of accurate in
formation on this subject. "A few
years ago in the criminal courts OF
New York. the superintendent of
charitable institution of that city was
tried and sentenced to imprisonment
for not furnishing proper and sufficient
food for the children under his care !;
none of the summoned experts could
state except in a vague and general
way how much food a child of a given
age required. The belief that children
on account of being so much smaller
than adults require less nutriment has
led many astray.
The fact is, the digestion of children
is more active than that of adults and
they suffer more from hunger if their
meals be delayed beyond their usual
time. Their tissues undergo more
active change than those of adults, so
they need more food for waste, and
they require additional nutriment for
growth.
A child under five weeks can take
three or four tablespoonfuls of milk
every two hours, and as the child
grows older the amount is increased
in proportion to age and size. DR..
Chadbourne, of New York, says a
child Of seven years requires per day,
in round numbers Roast beef 1912
o., potatoes 10 o., bread 10 o., but
ter l o., milk 1912 o., or 23-8
pints.
Prof. Dalton says a healthy adult
taking active exercise requires each
day Meat 16 o., bread l9 o., butter
3l-2 o., water 3 IA pints. Compare
this with the foregoing. and we see
that children require more food in
proportion than adults. a.ia al .
The above tables would be a very
generous diet. Many of us know that
a man can live on much less than one
pound of meat daily. In the late war
the daily allowance of meat to a soldier
was l A pound.
It would be wrong to limit the diet
to a fixed quantity, for some persons
require more food than others.
An Individual leading an active life
requires more food than one with
sedantary habits. A child should
never 60 hungry after a meal. The
breakfast and dinner should be gener-
Gus but a light supper is necessary.
The alimentary tract, the chemical
laboratory of the body, is the center
in which every ingredient is prepared
and from which everything is drawn
to supply the demands of the body
and to add the necessary. nutriment
for growth. The power of this diges-
tive apparatus is wonderful-capable
of performing all the work nature re-
quires for a hundred years or more,
if used as nature dictates.
But when this wonderful organ is
imposed upon, called upon to digest
tough beef, heavy, half-cooked bread,
or when alcoholic drinks are INDUCED
in, we should not be surprised when
the great functions are poorly per-
formed, but rather wonder that the
digestive apparatus does not get up a
rebellion in self-defence.
There are certain substances taken
as food that are essentially indigestible;
the seeds and skins of fruit, husks of
corn, bran, gristle, &C., cannot be dis
solved by the gastric juices. Excessive
eating entail somewhat the same con
sequences as indigestible foods. The
popular fashion and fancies will have
much to answer for at the bar Of
Hygiene. The fashion of taking an
appetizer in the shape of a "cock tail"
before meals provokes to over.eating,
producing an unnecessary tax on the
organ and should be condemned.
Appetite and digestion are very
much influenced by the habits of the
individual. The diet of a bodily
laborer should consist largely of digest
ible heterogeneous foods, as milk, eggs,
soft-boiled vegetables and lean meat,
which should be increased in proper
ton to the increase in muscular exer-
else. This class of food goes to build
up muscular tissue.